Goods-carrying three wheelers are choking the city's road and citizen's lungs. Picture by Amit Datta

The steep rise in the count of goods-carrying three-wheelers in the city has prompted the transport department to make it mandatory for the vehicles to get a permit from the public vehicles department (PVD) before plying on busy city thoroughfares.

According to the central motor vehicles rules, no permit is required for goods vehicles with a capacity less than three tonnes. Only heavy vehicles like trucks and Matadors have to obtain permits from the PVD.

Officials in the transport department said as no permit is required for plying the three-wheelers and with bank loans easily available, many unemployed youths have started operating the vehicles.

Currently, more than 30,000 goods-carrying three-wheelers, run on diesel, are operating in the city and contributing significantly to the rise in environment pollution, the officials added.

“The Centre has given its consent to the new rule. From now, all three-wheelers will have to obtain a permit, like buses, taxis and trucks. The PVD will issue the permit against a fee,’’ said transport secretary Sumantra Chowdhury.

According to the officials, the public vehicles department will fix the routes after issuing the work permits. The three-wheelers will not be allowed to ply on the arterial roads. The vehicles now ply everywhere, except the BBD area.

“The city roads are already choked with the autorickshaws, buses, taxis and cars. These three-wheelers add to the chaos and pollution level. The rising count of these vehicles is alarming. We don’t intend to bar anyone from plying them, but want to ensure they follow the rules,’’ Chowdhury asserted.